Tell me of T2K
- Thread starter Jame
- Start date
PapaGolfWhiskey
SOC-13
Twilight 2000 is a cold war era 'near future' RPG that, like many 'near future' games written 20 years ago and set about ... now. posutlated that about NOW... the Soviets and the West would have had their final showdown. and the pc's are adventurers among the rubble. dodging the rads and the (in the more colourful ones) mutants.
The genre is one that allows RP settings reminscent of 'Reign of Fire' 'Day of the Triffids' and any number of post-holocaust sci fi short stories. (though probably NOT Nevil Shute's 'On the Beach')
Twilight differs in that the breakdown wasn't complete and the devastation wasn't totall. The war boggs down but drags on. ammmo get's low but is still avialeble. Weopans of Mass Destruction fly... but only peicemeal and in limited numbers.
The armies become almost feudal, only fighting when they are free to get their troops out of the harvast feilds. Most of hte vehicles that still run do so on doped alcohol. But they still exist and are still fighting.
The breakdown is never complete enough to DESTROY civilisation and the Traveller 2300 history actually appears to be a build up from it with mankind bootstraping back up to previous levels and sufficienly beyond to start exploring the stars.
Twilight though plays out during the 'not quiet dark age' of the immediate war/post war era.
The initial adventure pack as the PC's as patrol thats part of an army in Poland.
the last message they recieve before a mushroom cloud appears over where their army was.. (they're deep beyond the front lines) is "good luck your on your own"
They now have to escape to either the mediteraean or the black sea. I can't remember. Through a Warsaw pact Army. or two.
PapaGolfWhiskey
SOC-13
Original T2k, was a new percentile and d10 based system. It had a lot more stats than traveller and a wack load of skills.
I don't remeber a lot of the mechanics to be honest since I NEVER played it and since after shifting my library during one household change I pared down a lot of my never used books and it got the chop.
I do remember one stat though. Coolness under fire.
It was a sort of 'morale check' stat to see if you remembered things or maintained physical co-ord while under high stress. (usually being shot at.)
Ganidirsii O'Flynn
SOC-12
Take a look at the "Favorite T2K Stories" thread. Twilight will always be a favorite memory for all of us who were on active duty at the time.
The setting is begins in late summer 2000 when the last of NATO's organized mech forces faced off against what little the Warsaw Pact had left. The players were all members of various NATO forces that had been gathered up to form the US 5th Infantry Division. While undergoing severe RedForce counterattacks near a Central Polish town named Kaliscz, the Divisional CP was overrun. The last thing anyone hears from their divisional CO is: "Good luck. You're on your own."
It supposes that in 1995 or so, the balloon really did go up and that the nightmare scenario from Brig.Hackett's "The Third World War" didn't BEGIN to cover how bad it would get. Nukes were exchanged (hitting oil production, command, and industrial targets), chem was used only tactically (not as a terror weapon against civilians), and so much infrastructure broke down that civilization was under threat.
One REALLY cool aspect of the game, besides Cool Under Fire, was a vehicular Maintainance Check. The higher tech the vehicle (M-1 Tank, etc), the higher the maintainance. The first time I played, we had a LAV-25 with a full ammo load. We were lucky to make 25 kliks a day what with breakdowns. The Deuce and a half never did quit running though....
The setting is begins in late summer 2000 when the last of NATO's organized mech forces faced off against what little the Warsaw Pact had left. The players were all members of various NATO forces that had been gathered up to form the US 5th Infantry Division. While undergoing severe RedForce counterattacks near a Central Polish town named Kaliscz, the Divisional CP was overrun. The last thing anyone hears from their divisional CO is: "Good luck. You're on your own."
It supposes that in 1995 or so, the balloon really did go up and that the nightmare scenario from Brig.Hackett's "The Third World War" didn't BEGIN to cover how bad it would get. Nukes were exchanged (hitting oil production, command, and industrial targets), chem was used only tactically (not as a terror weapon against civilians), and so much infrastructure broke down that civilization was under threat.
One REALLY cool aspect of the game, besides Cool Under Fire, was a vehicular Maintainance Check. The higher tech the vehicle (M-1 Tank, etc), the higher the maintainance. The first time I played, we had a LAV-25 with a full ammo load. We were lucky to make 25 kliks a day what with breakdowns. The Deuce and a half never did quit running though....
PapaGolfWhiskey
SOC-13
yeah. think of it as like...
5 years AFTER 'Team Yankee' or 'Red Storm Rising'
very cool in that it's not a totall breakdown.
The american dragonslayer unit in 'Reign of fire' reminded me of Twilight a bit.
5 years AFTER 'Team Yankee' or 'Red Storm Rising'
very cool in that it's not a totall breakdown.
The american dragonslayer unit in 'Reign of fire' reminded me of Twilight a bit.
Since the setting is covered (very briefly)... the 1st ed rules.
the base rules are a %ile system. Three difficulty levels (1/2 skill = hard. skill= average. 2x skill = easy.
Random stat rolls. Random career history, mostly focussed on the US Army. Focus on mech infantry. not many baground options. Good radiation rules.
Combat tended to bog a little. Fairly realistic (and so players often disliked it). potentially brutal. Also potentially wacky.
^ Don't count your chickens ... read in the ticker on CNN that the Russian Navy will be deploying a new boomer next year with improved ICBM's. Hmmm? Twilight 2004?
Ganidirsii O'Flynn
SOC-12
Oh thank YOU "Mr. Sanger"
Ganidirsii O'Flynn
SOC-12
NOT to get that started again (and I admit I bring it up more often than most folks) "Mr. Sanger" is the son-of-an-individual who wants to be paid six figures to release all the old DGP material. I referred to him jokingly as an example of unreasonable greed.
As to links, I had about four of them, but they are all broken links nowadays. I guess it's "Google" for ya, Jame.
As to links, I had about four of them, but they are all broken links nowadays. I guess it's "Google" for ya, Jame.
PapaGolfWhiskey
SOC-13
Acutally I found one site.
By accident a friend was looking for something else.
here you go.
http://www.ludd.luth.se/~antenna/m2k/index.htm
By accident a friend was looking for something else.
here you go.
http://www.ludd.luth.se/~antenna/m2k/index.htm
Ah the wonderful memories - I too was on active duty when this came out. I have a sneaking suspicion that in the T2K world more M-60 series tanks would be left than M-1's becaues even thought their armor was much poorer, they were boatloads easier to maintain.Originally posted by Ganidiirsi O'Flynn:
[One REALLY cool aspect of the game, besides Cool Under Fire, was a vehicular Maintainance Check. The higher tech the vehicle (M-1 Tank, etc), the higher the maintainance. The first time I played, we had a LAV-25 with a full ammo load. We were lucky to make 25 kliks a day what with breakdowns. The Deuce and a half never did quit running though....
The maint rules were easily the single most realistic thing in T2k and set the bar in my mind. And, yes, you can drive a duce and a half to hell and back and it probably won't break down. G*%D*#m hummers will though.
William
Ah the wonderful memories - I too was on active duty when this came out. I have a sneaking suspicion that in the T2K world more M-60 series tanks would be left than M-1's becaues even thought their armor was much poorer, they were boatloads easier to maintain.Originally posted by Ganidiirsi O'Flynn:
[One REALLY cool aspect of the game, besides Cool Under Fire, was a vehicular Maintainance Check. The higher tech the vehicle (M-1 Tank, etc), the higher the maintainance. The first time I played, we had a LAV-25 with a full ammo load. We were lucky to make 25 kliks a day what with breakdowns. The Deuce and a half never did quit running though....
The maint rules were easily the single most realistic thing in T2k and set the bar in my mind. And, yes, you can drive a duce and a half to hell and back and it probably won't break down. G*%D*#m hummers will though.
William
I recall D6s involved somewhere. Character creation? Damage?
Supplements added lots of non-US forces. Added lots of Spec Ops types too. Good NBC rules, not just rad. They had good coverage of a bunch of biowar stuff (at least it looked good to this unqualified observer).
[/QUOTE]
Actually, our group gave it up because it was boggy and because it *was not* that brutal. Take that system and try shooting someone down with a pistol. It'll take you some time.
Other than problems with basic gun combat, the game had a very detailed setting and LOTS of excellent modules from E Europe to the Gulf to the US of A. Challenge mag had a lot of good stuff for it too.
I recall D6s involved somewhere. Character creation? Damage?</font>[/QUOTE]Damage and attributes. IIRC, that is. I'm certain about attributes.
I found the system remarkably likely to drop but not kill on a solid hit.
(For reference, 2nd ed was far LESS lethal, and PC's were considerably tougher than NPC's in 2nd Ed)
